


Slice of Life: Burned

by The Black Sluggard (Hazgarn)



Series: Life [22]
Category: Castle
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst and Humor, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, Slash, Undead, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 03:58:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4691177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazgarn/pseuds/The%20Black%20Sluggard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Though post-vitals were resistant to many forms of disease, there were numerous minor indignities Javier still had to worry about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slice of Life: Burned

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet is actually about four years old, written (and posted) back when I was cranking out silly fluff fics for the Life 'verse nearly every week. This one is amongst the silliest and the fluffiest, finished some time between "Reflection" and "Thanksgiving", but somehow it fell through the cracks and never made the leap from my LiveJournal to other sites.
> 
> Taking the time to correct that now. Enjoy.

"Are you _serious_?" Javier asked, his reaction one that—if Kevin were forced to define it—verged comically on horror.

Kevin had been watching as his partner glared at the mirror, prodding his cheek lightly with a wince. Javier's eyebrow rose skeptically as he asked the question, lifting his gaze to meet Kevin's reflection over his shoulder. Kevin wasn't a doctor— _obviously_ —and certain aspects of Javier's condition made the hurts and illnesses he was still susceptible to difficult to diagnose. Still, Kevin was reasonably sure he had suitable experience in certain topics to lend his informed opinion…

"Pretty sure. I mean, its difficult to tell with your skin tone and without the, uh..."

Javier huffed an irritated grunt, and Kevin was glad not to have to finish the sentence. The conversation was still light just then, but reminding Javier of some of the more visceral alterations was a sure way to change that mood for the worse. That his lack of blood cells logically meant his skin no longer reddened in response to damage potentially fell under that category.

"No way." Javier said after a moment's thought, shaking his head at his reflection. "It's December. Who gets sunburn in _December_?"

"A lot of people," Kevin defended—er, _argued_ , "when it's actually sunny out like it was. And I _know_ the doctors mentioned you might be more vulnerable to UV."

"It couldn't have been even twenty minutes..." Javier groused, a touch pathetically.

"Next time don't fall asleep in the car—"

"I wasn't _asleep_." Javier said, leaning against the bathroom sink as he turned around to face him.

Knowing how difficult that state was for his partner to achieve, Kevin acknowledged this was probably true.

"Would you prefer 'sunbathing like a lazy kitten'?" Kevin offered with a faint smirk.

Which was, perhaps, a little unkind. Though the cold rarely bothered him, Kevin knew Javier often took comfort in the sensation of warmth. He thought that made sense, but for some reason Javier sometimes seemed almost embarrassed by it whenever it was pointed out.

"No napping in the car," Javier accepted gruffly. "Got it."

"You still don't burn as easily as I do," Kevin argued lightly, hoping to halt a potentially fouler mood in its tracks. "Quit being such a baby about it."

Javier let out a snort.

"And here I was going to let you kiss it better," he grumbled with a faint smile, and Kevin knew his backhanded attempt at commiseration had worked.

"Oh, _let_ me?" Kevin said, taking a step forward to press in close.

"Mhm." Javier hummed, leaning slightly out of reach. "Only you were mean to me, so now I don't think I will."

"And what if I say I'm really, _really_ sorry?" Kevin asked, managing to hide his smile long enough to affect disappointment.

"Maybe..." Javier said, making a show of considering. "I'd have to think about it."

"Tease."

Javier's smile flashed a little brighter as he brought their lips together—though he made a soft noise and aborted the kiss quickly, pulling back with a wince.

"You know..." Kevin began speculatively, finger tugging lightly at the collar of Javier's shirt. "I bet there are plenty of places the sun never touched."

"Sure." Javier said with a faint laugh and a careful smile. "How about we go find a few?"


End file.
